2017 Comes to an End with Boxing Having Its Ups & Downs!

It’s been a great 2017 for many boxers and promoters but we still have the “side show” that boxing always seems to bring to us. We see a former world champion with a 49-0 record allowed a fight with a UFC fighter who never had a pro fight and the two of them skip to the bank with millions. Fool me once shame on you but fool me twice and shame on me. Rocky Marciano for over 60 years held a record 49-0 and there have been four boxers that surpassed that only to eventually lose.

WBC Minimumweight champion from Thailand Chayaphon Moonsri in his last defense in November increased his unbeaten record to 49-0. Will Mayweather be “forced” to come back and in a rematch with McGregor in Dublin on St. Patty’s Day try to keep ahead of him for his 51st win? How did the Nevada commission ever approve of the exhibition of McGregor and Mayweather?

On the positive side Vasyl “Hi-Tech” Lomachenko is talking about moving up another weight division after destroying previously unbeaten WBA Super Bantam champion Guillermo Rigondeaux who unwisely jumped two weight classes only to be humiliated.

Mikey Garcia like Lomachenko is moving up to another weight class with a successful comeback. Gennady “GGG” Golovkin holds three of the four organizations middleweight titles and gets ripped off chasing Saul Canelo Alvarez around the ring only to be given a “draw” decision. If anyone deserves a rematch it would be Danny Jacobs whom Golovkin defeated early in the year. Though in the Jacobs case he skips a second weigh-in on the day of a fight and as you know in boxing you can gain twenty to twenty five pounds over night after hydrating your body. If Golovkin came in at 170 gaining ten pounds how much do you think Jacobs came in at? Was it 185 or more? No wonder he was able to go the distance. It took him about seven months to fight again after as one of Golovkin’s sparring partners Philly’s Dhafir Smith said “he hit’s like a heavyweight.

It’s like anything else its “all about the money that can be generated. Welterweight WBC & WBA champion Keith Thurman unified by defeating Danny “Swift” Garcia.

Once again Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev regains one of the three titles at light heavyweight gaining the WBO belt. If he was robbed in the first Andre Ward fight there wouldn’t have been a second match which Ward won fair and square and retired.

Terence “Bud” Crawford who held all the belts at super lightweight is moving up to welterweight in a division that is flourishing. A bout between Crawford and Thurman would be great!

WBA & IBF Heavyweight champion Anthony “A.J. Joshua had several defenses but unfortunately one wasn’t against WBC champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder which hopefully will happen in 2018. Joshua looked so poor in his last fight with Carlos Takam that even the new WBO champion Joe Parker wants to fight him.

Philly has some of the best young talent in the country but as I call it the “Philly Jinx” when they get a title shot they get beat. But unfortunately Philly’s Tevin “American Idol” Farmer should have been given a deserving title win gets ripped off.

I recently did an article about “Why Should Politicians Put Boxing Commissioners in?” What do they know about boxing? They can’t even run the country right. Speaking of bad judges how in the world did Jeff Horn ever get the decision over Manny “Pac Man” Pacquaio? The so-called writers want the “Pac Man” to retire? How about a rematch outside of Australia! Now he wants to fight McGregor. Who doesn’t? Mayweather carried him for seven rounds throwing three punches a round then took him out. You don’t think that was pre-planned?

We need qualified judges whether they are former boxers, trainers or managers. Boxing is a great sport but the ones who run it are not helping the game and Philly is no exception! The boxers coming in from the European East are hungry and keeping boxing alive. The four cruiserweight champions are from other countries. Let’s hope for an even better 2018!